Shoe Thrower Has "No Regret," Says Brother

Published Jul 16, 2009 at 9:16 PM

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The world's most infamous shoe thrower will be ringing in the new year in an Iraqi court. And according to his brother, the letter of apology he wrote to President Bush was beaten out of him.

"He told me that he has no regret because of what he did and that he would do it again," Uday al-Zeidi, whose brother hurled his size-10s at Bush last week, said by telephone.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi is now missing a tooth and has cigarettes burns on his ears, according to his brother. A court official has acknowledged that he was beaten around the face and eyes.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was standing next to Bush when the shoes went whizzing by, claims that Muntadhar was coerced into launching the attack by a notorious -- yet unnamed -- terrorist.

"He revealed ... that a person provoked him to commit this act and that person is known to us for slitting throats," al-Maliki said, according to the prime minister's Web site.

Though neither Bush nor al-Maliki have sought charges, it's believed that investigating judge Dhia al-Kinani will accuse Muntadhar of insulting a foreign leader, for which a conviction could bring two years' imprisonment. The trial is set to begin Dec. 31.

"The thing that makes you cry and laugh at the same time is that when the prime minister said that that my brother was not tortured and will not be tortured, he was under severe torture by security authorities," Uday said.